Preparations have begun in earnest for the return of refugees to Kosovo following confirmation yesterday of the initial withdrawal of Serbian troops.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has drawn up a repatriation plan based on the expectation that as many as half of the 800,000-plus ethnic Albanian refugees will return within the next three months. With 50 per cent of homes in Kosovo believed to be destroyed, the UN agency aims to provide 35,000 housing units and 15,000 "winterised" tents under the first phase of the plan.
The World Food Programme (WFP) has already put aside 33,000 tonnes of food aid for immediate distribution in the troubled territory.
"There are up to 650,000 internally displaced people in Kosovo who have been without a proper food supply for weeks," said Ms Anna Dilellio of the WFP. "The last time we got anything into the area was last March, and our most recent reports are that people are now scavenging for food."
She added: "While our main concern is for these internally displaced people, we are also getting ready for a spontaneous movement of refugees back to Kosovo."
Mobile bakeries are to accompany the refugees on their journeys home. In addition, each person will be given a three-day ration pack on leaving the camps and a subsequent five-day food package on arrival in Kosovo.
National aid agencies are also starting to redirect their efforts towards assisting the return. The Irish aid organisation, Goal, yesterday started the latest phase of its campaign in northern Albania to repair the hundreds of tractors, trailers and other vehicles used in the mass exodus from Kosovo.
The original motivation behind the campaign was to encourage refugees to move south, away from dangerous border locations. Now, for obvious reasons, the emphasis has changed.
"We are trying to make the journey back quicker, safer and more orderly and, at the same time, ensure the refugees can use what is for most their only valuable possession left," said Ms Siobhan O'Hegarty, a field officer with GOAL.
"If you saw the condition of some of the tractors when they arrived. Some had no tyres or had just bits of rubber hanging off the wheel rims which were scraping off the ground. Those vehicles are not just uncomfortable but dangerous, especially on the narrow, mountainous roads around here."
The aid agency began distributing a new batch of tyres and tubes yesterday to up to 200 of Kukes's 1,600 refugee vehicle-owners. It plans to extend the scheme to other locations in Albania in preparation for the move back across the border.
Ms Jennifer Dean, a UNHCR spokeswoman, said the Irish project had been "crucial in terms of helping people to move south, as no refugee wants to leave his tractor behind, and it should be just as crucial when the move home begins." The UN agency has estimated that about half of all refugees will need assistance with transportation back to Kosovo.
While initiatives such as this have been taken, much of the UNHCR's humanitarian plan is on hold pending implementation of the NATO military-technical agreement.
Provisionally, the UN agency intends to establish offices in seven locations - Pristina, Pec, Mitrovica, Djakovica, Prizren, Urosevac and Gnjilane - and to transport the bulk of aid to Kosovo from warehouses in Macedonia.
Also, mobile medical clinics are to be established and essential drugs and materials delivered to isolated health centres.
Meanwhile, support will continue to be channelled through camps and host families in Albania, Macedonia and Montenegro, where 444,000, 247,000 and 69,600 refugees respectively are based.
A contingency plan has been drawn up to cater for the possibility of people staying put through the winter until the security situation has stabilised.
To discourage a sudden rush for the border, the UNHCR is to start an information campaign this week spelling out the implications of the peace agreement. In addition, an awareness campaign warning against mines and unexploded ordinance is to be stepped up.
So far the refugees have been cautious about planning an immediate return home, with many still sceptical of the peace deal. However, the mood in the camps yesterday had changed considerably with confirmation that the withdrawal of Serb troops had begun.
"I have everything packed," said Mr Habib Ajeti, whose home and shop in Lipljan were burned down by Serbian police two months ago, leaving him penniless. "All I have fits into the boot of the car. I'm just waiting for the signal."
That signal would appear to be the arrival of the NATO ground troops. "Once that happens, we expect things to move very quickly," said Ms Dean.
Reuter adds: Yugoslavia yesterday told ethnic Albanian refugees to use official border crossings when they return to Serbia, and not to try to enter illegally over the mountains.
"Refugees who are coming back to the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia and to. . .Serbia should use only a border crossing. There will be no return of refugees through the mountains as a cover for terrorists and separatists," a Foreign Ministry spokesman, Mr Nebojsa Vujovic, said.
He added that the Yugoslav government would continue to have control of border crossings, immigration and customs as was agreed between President Milosevic, the Finnish president, Mr Marrti Ahtasaari, and the Russian envoy, Mr Viktor Chernomyrdin.
"As soon as the phases of withdrawal are completed our institutions will start functioning and provide basic care," said Mr Vujovic, who was involved in talks at the Macedonian border on the military implementation of the peace agreement.
The Taoiseach, Mr Ahern, yesterday launched the Cradle Appeal for the Children of Kosovo. Food clothing and hygiene products will be collected through all Dunnes Stores branches from today until Sunday week.